heartbeats skipping like stones
by xIrelandx
Summary: UPDATED: Formatting issues fixed! / Luke, Flora and Layton move to America to work in tandem with the Professor's old friend, Phoenix Wright. But some things have changed since their time apart... Luke- Apollo, Trucy/Flora. Background Phoenix/Apollo.
1. Chapter 1

They worked so well together that Phoenix suggested a merger - Phoenix and Maya would defend the clients (assuming they were innocent), while Luke and the Professor worked out the real culprit and found evidence. Layton was quietly enthusiastic; Luke, boisterously so. Luke would have enjoyed the move to America straight away, but Layton insisted on holding off until everything got settled. Luke was sure this meant they would never actually meet again - when adults said they were 'holding off' on something, that usually meant that whatever that something was, was never going to happen. A few years came and went between their parting, but up until the last few months the four had managed to keep well in touch with one another.

Then one day, Mr. Wright stopped returning their calls. Maya seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

"'ave we done something to insult 'em?" Luke asked, trying not to let his worry show too much.

The Professor frowned, shaking his head. "I'm not sure, but I don't believe so. Perhaps he is simply busy?" Luke hummed in agreement, and imagined Mr. Nick (as he'd been told to call the man) running around getting court documents prepared, tripping over Maya's sets of _Steel Samurai_. It sounded plausible enough, so Luke nodded to the empty air before him, and waited patiently. A couple months later, Luke overheard Layton's side of a phone conversation with someone who could only have been Mr. Nick.

"That is ridiculous, Phoenix -" there was a pause, as the Professor allowed Mr. Wright to speak. His back was straight, his arms stiff. The hand not holding onto the telephone was fisted at his side. "No, we will not leave off. A gentleman always helps those in trouble. I don't care what you say, Phoenix, we are going to help you in this, and that is final." There was another short pause, but Luke couldn't hear the murmuring of voices from the other end. "All right. We shall see you soon enough." Layton hung up, and sighed deeply.

"Profess'ah?" Luke asked, stepping out from behind the door. "Wh't's wrong with Mr. Nick?"

Layton turned to face his apprentice, a sad smile stretching across his face. "It's difficult to explain, Luke. Safe to say that Mr. Wright has been through quite an ordeal recently, and we can only hope to be there for him in his time of need." Layton squeezed his left shoulder before retiring for the night, suggesting Luke do the same.

Luke did head off to bed, but he could hardly sleep. He was too worried about his one-time friend. After his fourth startled wake up, he crept down the hall to Flora's room, knocking softly.

Flora opened, big doe eyes half-lidded in exhaustion fluttering wide awake at Luke's anxious figure. "Luke! Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"

Luke's thumbs danced around one another as the preteen blushed nervously and failed to maintain eye contact. "Not 'xactly. I can' really get to sleep t' start with."

Flora nodded and ushered Luke into her room. It was as feminine as she could make it without painting the walls. They didn't really own the place, as housing was provided by the university. Still, there were perfectly preserved flowers, pinned to felt and framed on the walls. What little knitting and crocheting Flora could do decorated the blank spaces that were littered with cards from friends or paintings. Flora had to make do with the people and things she met and aquired through school, as the Professor was hesitant to take her on adventures with him. It was a point about which Luke knew she felt bitter, but he knew the Professor wondered if Luke wouldn't have been better off in school as well. There wasn't much he could do about it, though; Luke had come to stay with the express purpose of learning from Layton, while Flora was his adopted daughter.

"What's bothering you, Luke?" Flora sat politely on her bed, hands clasped in her lap. "Is it about the man the Professor was talking to on the phone."

Luke swallowed and nodded, and told Flora all about their adventure with legitimate time travel. She was a good listener and an active audience, laughing and clapping and gasping at all the right moments. When Luke was finished, Flora was only left more confused. "But aren't you excited to see Mr. Nick again?"

Luke sighed. "Well, I would be, but it appears as though something bad has happened to him. What if he's changed? Wh- what if he's...?" Luke let his words trail off, not meeting Flora's eyes. She shook her head, enveloping Luke in a quick, tight hug. "Never you worry, Luke. I'm sure it's something the Professor can help out with. That is why we're leaving, isn't it?"

Luke nodded, forgetting that he hadn't quite told Flora the entire story.


	2. Chapter 2

Why they didn't just fly to America was anybody's guess. Flora didn't seem to mind the long boat ride (although that was probably more excitement at finally being included in an adventure), jumping around and taking pictures of everything she came into contact with. Layton remained contemplative, although not rude; if spoken to, he shook himself from his reverie and was pleasant as could be. But Luke could tell he wasn't really interested in the journey.

Luke wasn't, either, but unlike his Professor, Luke wasn't willing to be patient. Every time he was made to stand or sit still, Luke found himself drumming his fingers on the railings, the tables, his own thighs. When they finally arrived, Luke felt as though he could kiss the ground.

They couldn't immediately ship off to see Phoenix, no matter how much they wanted to. The Professor thought it best to lay low for a week - get unpacked, get settled, meet their neighbors. Luke was, as always, eager to get going. The first opportunity that Luke had to slip away was while Flora was out buying groceries, Layton was having a discussion with the department head, and Luke had promised to get some decorating done. The minute Flora was out of sight, Luke was gone.

He'd done his own research as to where to find Mr Wright. His address had changed slightly since the last time Luke had sent or received a letter from Mr Nick, but after navigating London for so long Luke didn't think he'd have any issues finding the apartment.

Navigating California was a lot different from navigating England. Luke managed to get himself turned around easily, jostled by many a stranger. Many of them were impolite, and while Luke knew that it was a difference in culture, he couldn't help but think that people on the street could at least try to be a little more considerate of others. By the time he reached the right neighborhood, Luke was agitated to the point of tears.

_Gentlemen don't cry, Luke,_ he told himself. _Keep it together._

There was a sign on the door: Wright Anything Talent Agency. Luke felt his breath hitch in anxiety. Was there some other person by the name of Wright in this city?

"Even if there is," Luke said out loud, "I'm here now, and I might as well ask." Luke let a breath escape his lips and raised his shaking arm.

He wasn't sure, at first, that his hand hit hard enough for whoever resided within to hear him. But as he leaned in to knock again, the door opened.

The man on the other side of the door was most definitely not Phoenix Wright. He didn't look much older than fifteen or sixteen, but his clothes were much more mature than anything Luke had ever worn. He was wearing a red suit and had his brown hair styled oddly - like horns which fringe would be. A gold badge like the kind Mr Nick wore shone on one of his lapels. Luke blinked several times, but no words left his mouth.

"Uhm," the man at the door started. He looked as uncomfortable and unsure as Luke felt. "Can I, uhm, help you with something?"

"Aah -" Luke had never stuttered without crying or being cold before, but even his mind felt unintelligible, out of order. "Ye - Yes. D'you, uh - d'you know Mr Wright? Doesn't he uhm," Luke shuffled his feet, suddenly remembering to bring his knocking hand down.

"Oh!" the young man shouted. His cheeks colored softly. "Yeah. Mr Wright's out right now, but he'll be back in soon. Why don't you come inside?"

Luke wasn't sure what to do. His head said that this wasn't a safe idea. He didn't even know this man's name. He could be anybody. But his body... his body wanted him to say yes.

"Sorry," the man said, smoothing down his hair. "I forgot to say, I'm Apollo Justice. I work for Mr Wright - well, sort of," he muttered under his breath. Luke held tight to his bag and took a cautious step in. Apollo (was that even a real name?) walked by and Luke smelt something dark and musky. His chest tightened.

Luke took a seat on one of the two parallel couches, taking great care not to sit on or too close to the magic paraphernalia littering the couch. Apollo sat down across from him, leaning on his knees. Luke wanted to back away, told his body to back away, but he only found himself leaning in closer.

"So," Apollo began again. His dark eyes were intense, judging Luke closely. Luke struggled to break eye contact, blushing as he looked away. "What sort of case is this?"

* * *

Flora should have known better than to leave Luke home alone. If the Professor found out, he'd be furious. His immediate suspicion would be that Luke had been kidnapped - by whom and for what purpose, Flora didn't know. It wasn't her paranoia, after all.

It didn't take Flora long to figure out where Luke had gone. Stubborn and now disrespectful of the Professor's wishes, Luke had at least left a note letting Flora and the Professor know where he'd gone. Flora growled in agitation as she threw the groceries in what would hopefully be a proper place, pocketed the note, and went running.

Unlike Luke, Flora didn't get lost. She got easily overwhelmed in crowds when she was younger, but Luke was her brother and he was in trouble - with _her_. She reached the Write Anything Talent Agency, and took pause. Was this really the correct place? Hadn't Luke and the Professor said Mr Wright was a lawyer? Did lawyers now work in talent agencies?

Flora cleared her throat and pushed her shoulders back, preparing to knock on the door when it was opened for her by a bright, smiling girl in a magician's outfit.

"You must be Flora!" she said, enveloping Flora in a hug. "It's so good to meet you! Luke's told me so much." Flora was stunned. She wasn't used to being hugged by others. She'd always believed it wasn't exactly proper, but now her whole chest was warming up and feeling lighter.

The other girl pushed back, hands on Flora's shoulders. She giggled. "Sorry, but there are hardly any girls my age around. I really hope we can be friends!" she tapped on her chin, as if trying to remember something. "Oh!" she clapped a hand to her cheek. "I guess I should tell you - I'm Trucy. Trucy Wright."


	3. Chapter 3

Trucy didn't recall Luke telling her about a daughter, but she referred to Phoenix as "Daddy" while she bounced from her heels to her toes and back again.

"Trucy?" a voice called from inside. "Who's at the door?" The body to which the voice belonged appeared behind Trucy, male and slightly taller. He was frowning in worry. Did Mr Wright have a brother too?

Trucy covered her mouth and giggled. "Whoops! Sorry Polly. This is Flora, Luke's sort-of sister." Flora made an odd curtsy, distracted by the bright red Polly was wearing. Polly did an awkward bow in return.

"It's Apollo, actually," he said, still looking at Trucy with suspicion.

Flora heard a cough from farther back in the room and opened her mouth to ask Apollo, who seemed to be the resident adult, when Trucy grabbed her hand and dragged her inside. Flora's breath caught in her throat, and she felt like coughing too. There was no real logic behind the sudden stutter in her chest or the blush that tinged her cheeks, and she tried to think of puzzles to calm herself down.

"Flora?" Trucy was looking at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, ah - yes. I was just th- thinking of a puzzle." Flora was furious with herself - she'd never been one to stutter. That had always been Luke's occasional habit, especially when nervous.

"Oh!" Trucy clapped her hands excitedly. "Can I hear it? I love puzzles!"

The puzzle Flora had been remembering mixed suddenly with a million past puzzles and she felt her brain whirring, turning blank in the speed of her thoughts. She was grateful for Apollo's interruption of, "Not now, Trucy. You need to get homework done before Ph- before your father gets home."

Trucy combined an eye-roll with an aggravated groan. "Come on Polly, I hardly ever have friends over! Do you really think he would mind?" She turned to the side, showing off her profile as her eyes widened and lashes batted. Flora placed her hands on her chest above her heart, feeling it beat quickly beneath the fabric of her dress. She must be getting sick.

Apollo crossed his arms, glaring. "Your dad may be a sucker for those puppy-dog eyes, Trucy, but I'm not." Trucy dropped the act with another sigh. "Besides, if you don't have your homework done before he gets in, I'm going to be the one getting trouble -"

"Yeah right!" she shouted. "He never stays mad at you for long -"

"That's hardly the point, Trucy," he said firmly. "I'm being serious, your dad -"

"I know you know his first name, Polly," she drawled.

"Trucy," he snapped.

The young girl threw her hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, _mom_. I'll go get it done." She looked to Flora hopefully, bouncing again on the balls of her feet. She opened her mouth to speak, but Apollo cut her off again.

"I don't think Flora's going to be able to help you. Not unless she's at the same school -"

"She will be!" Trucy insisted. "Please Polly? I'll never ask you for anything ever again!" she was holding Flora's hand again, her grip tight as she bounced in excitement.

Apollo's eyes closed and he covered them with his hand. "Alright, okay. Just - don't tell your father, okay? He'll kill me."

"Oh," she teased, "It'll only be a _little_ death, Polly -"

"Trucy!" he shouted, face going red. If he had another word for her, he didn't get it out as she ran to her room, Flora in tow.

"The two of you bicker like siblings," Flora noted. "How is Apollo related to you?"

"Oh, he's not," Trucy said. "Not really, anyway - we're half siblings. He's daddy's partner, though. That's how we met!"

Trucy hummed through her explanation as she rummaged through a chest, throwing various odd objects around the room. Flora followed a rubber chicken as it whizzed by, landing near Trucy's desk. "Partner in law, you mean?"

Trucy found what she was looking for - a sheet of some kind - and stretched it out, shaking the dust off. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, partner in law too." Flora didn't have time to clarify what Trucy meant, as the girl threw the sheet over Flora's head. "Now stay still, I'm gonna make you disappear!"

For a few moments, Flora was certain Trucy had left the room, as she could no longer hear her. When the curtain was lifted, Flora didn't recognize the room at all. "Wow!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She heard Trucy giggle from somewhere behind her, but still couldn't see the girl. Her heart fluttered and an involuntary smile graced her face.

"Stand still," Trucy said. "I'm going to bring you back now."

_I'm not sure I want to go_, Flora thought to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

"Trucy, I'm home!" a voice called from out in the main room. Trucy swore, losing her footing and crashing straight into Flora. The cover was unceremoniously knocked from the latter's head, Trucy landing on top of her new friend. The voice from the front room laughed, Flora flushed. Trucy was warm, and soft, and smelled sweet like strawberries.

"Come on," Trucy giggled, righting herself before offering her hand. "Daddy's home!"

* * *

"Mr Nick!" Luke shouted, jumping from the couch and running over to his friend. The intense nervousness Luke felt in his stomach was causing him to act downright bizarre, clasping his body to Wright's in an awkward hug. Luke's mind was screaming at his body, asking himself what he thought he was doing.

But if Phoenix found the gesture an odd one, he didn't say anything. "...Luke?" he asked. Luke backed off, feeling embarrassed. He hadn't even taken the time to take in the changes of his friend, and was a little disturbed by what he saw.

The Phoenix Wright he had known was clean shaven in a smart blue suit - serious, albeit somewhat hectic. The man who stood before him...well, if Apollo hadn't told Luke that he did, in fact, have the correct address, Luke wouldn't have believed it. There was nothing wrong with the black trousers he wore, but Mr Nick was now also clad in a grey hoodie, sandals, a bright blue beanie covering his spiky hair. There was a locket around his neck, and quite a bit of stubble on his face.

"Hey, Luke," he said quietly. "I didn't - ah, I didn't expect you over so early." Phoenix rubbed a hand over his head, ruffling his hair underneath his beanie. "I meant to do some cleaning up."

"So you knew he was coming?" Apollo was frowning up at his boss (it was strange to imagine Mr Nick as someone else's boss), hands on his hips. "You could've told me that, Ni - Mr Wright," he corrected, cheeks coloring.

Mr Nick rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Apollo. I know you know my name."

Apollo huffed. "That's hardly the point -"

"Daddy, Daddy!" Trucy burst out of her room, Flora in tow. Flora looked out of breath, and Luke's initial reaction was to ask what was wrong. He saw her look, however, down at where Trucy held her hand tightly, and watched as her free hand covered her heart. He didn't need to ask any questions. "I made a new friend!" Trucy bounced, showing their intertwined hands to her father.

"That's great!" he beamed. "You are -?"

"Flora," she responded with a cough. "I'm Professor Layton's, erm, daughter."

"Huh," Phoenix looked off to the side, contemplating something. Under his breath, he muttered, "I didn't realize Hershel had a daughter."

"I didn't realize you had one, either," Luke piped up. "Or a - uhm -" he gestured toward Apollo.

Phoenix laughed. "Yeah, you're not the only one surprised."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "So, are the two of you staying for dinner? I'm not sure there's anything edible in the house -"

"Didn't you go shopping yesterday?"

"No, Nick," Apollo shot back, finally forgetting the pretenses. "That was your job."

"Oh," he didn't really seem all that upset at his own mistake. "Sorry, Polly."

Apollo shook his head. "It's okay, how about we just -" a doorbell interrupted Apollo's thought. Not bothering to ask who was at the door, Mr Nick swung the door back open.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, but have you -" Luke looked around Mr Nick's body, and froze. It wasn't in the Professor's nature to get angry, but he was most definitely not going to be pleased with Luke or Flora. His gaze wasn't directed at either one of them, however; it was fixed on the frankly homeless looking man before him. "Phoenix," he said softly.

Mr Nick bowed his head softly, his face doing an odd contortion of a smile and a frown. "Hello, Hershel."


End file.
